Many factors can contribute to a car accident in Lancaster, PA. Weather, road defects, and equipment breakdowns can set events into motion that result in a car crash. Driver error is the most significant factor in traffic accidents and is the root cause of 94% of motor vehicle crashes. Researchers have only recently focused on car color and crash risk.
Studies suggest that a vehicle’s color might increase the likelihood of someone hitting that vehicle. However, the studies have also reached inconsistent or even contradictory conclusions.
Marzzacco Niven & Associates can help you overcome any claim by the at-fault driver that your car color was responsible for causing the crash that injured you. For assistance, contact our Pennsylvania law office to schedule a free case evaluation. Call us now at (717) 616-2954.
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How Marzzacco Niven & Associates Can Help You After an Auto Accident in Lancaster, PA
Since 2008, lawyers at Marzzacco Niven & Associates have been fighting for injured clients in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Our Lancaster car accident lawyers have over 120 years of combined legal experience standing up for crash victims and other injured people against insurers and at-fault parties.
If you suffer an injury due to someone else’s wrongful or negligent actions, we can provide the following legal services to help you:
- Analyzing your situation and explaining your legal options
- Gathering evidence to prove your case
- Filing an insurance claim and negotiating to settle it
- Litigating if we fail to reach a settlement
Your car accident injuries can result in years of expensive medical treatment and physical therapy. Contact our Lancaster personal injury lawyers for a free consultation to discuss your injuries and the compensation we can recover to meet your needs.
How Many Crashes in Pennsylvania Might Result From Car Color?
According to the 2023 Pennsylvania Crash Facts & Statistics book, the state had 110,382 traffic accidents. The theory that car color affects crash risk is based on a color’s visibility. Thus, certain low-visibility conditions would likely amplify this risk.
In 2023, most Pennsylvania crashes happened during daylight and in clear, dry conditions. Although these conditions seem ideal, glare could affect the visibility of silver or white cars under certain circumstances, like during sunrise or sunset. Only 2,065 crashes occurred at dawn, and 2,082 happened at dusk.
Crashes involving other low-visibility conditions included the following:
- 20,196 occurred at night on roads with streetlights.
- 17,074 occurred at night on roads without streetlights.
- 14,486 happened during rain or fog.
- 3,058 occurred during snow, sleet, or freezing rain.
- 743 happened in smog, haze, or smoke.
Roughly 34% of crashes in 2023 occurred during nighttime conditions, and about 17% happened in low-visibility conditions. The report does not identify how many happened during both darkness and weather-related low-visibility conditions.
How Does Car Color Affect Traffic Accidents?
The current state of research into car color and traffic accident risk involves the following three studies:
The University of Auckland Study
The first study, conducted in 2003, reviewed crash data from 571 traffic collisions in New Zealand. Importantly, the study also attempted to control for weather and ambient light conditions to try to isolate the role of color in all conditions.
This study compared the crash risk of colored cars to that of white cars and reached the following conclusions:
- Silver cars were significantly less risky than white.
- Red, blue, yellow, and gray cars had roughly the same risk as white.
- Brown, black, and green cars were significantly more risky than white.
The study did not theorize about the reason for these differences.
The Monash University Study
Researchers from Monash University in Australia studied car color in 2007. They examined significantly more data than the previous study. Specifically, they reviewed 102,559 crashes in Eastern Australia and 752,699 crashes in Western Australia. Again, the researchers controlled for factors such as the type of vehicle, ambient light conditions, and crash location.
This study reported that red, blue, green, gray, and silver vehicles had an elevated crash risk compared to white vehicles. It also found that the remaining colors had no statistically significant difference in crash risk from that of white cars. These conclusions disagree almost completely with those of the University of Auckland study, particularly on the risk for silver cars.
The South Korean Study
Researchers in South Korea conducted this most recent study. This study took a unique approach by looking at how vehicles of certain colors could be more or less visible to artificial intelligence systems, which might someday control driverless cars.
Rather than reviewing crash data, the researchers surveyed vehicle owners and found that silver and white cars were the most common.
The surveys also showed the following:
- Blue and green vehicles had a higher crash risk than white cars.
- Red and black cars had roughly the same crash risk as white cars.
- Silver, brown, and yellow cars had a lower crash risk than white cars.
Once again, the results differ from those of the other studies. The only agreement among the three studies is that green cars have an increased crash risk.
Schedule a Free Consultation With Our Experienced Lancaster Car Accident Attorneys
If an at-fault driver attempts to blame your car’s color for a crash, we will use the unreliability of the underlying studies to oppose their defense. Contact Marzzacco Niven & Associates for a free consultation to discuss legal strategies for your injury claim.